Prospect Info: The 2018 NHL Entry Draft Thread

[hockeyviking]

Sure it can. Young kids doing extraordinary things is pretty good evidence of being a damn good player.

Extraordinary ??? There is nothing extraordinnary about leading the shl in points . Do you even watch shl ?

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

Avs fans just won't ever be happy. We could draft Pronger and develop him and people will complain that they should've taken Kariya.

 

[Pokecheque]

Makar has played 16 games of NCAA hockey.

Pettersson has played 26 games in the SHL.

Still not ready to make a definitive statement on either player, but anyone who's getting all discouraged because the pick everyone knew was gonna be a project isn't suddenly taking over Cawlidge Hawkey with his dazzling skill set hasn't been paying attention.

I certainly hope Elias Pettersson becomes the player everyone thinks he will be. The more talent in this league, the better. Obviously I'm hoping just a little bit more that Makar pans out. But I'm not ready to make some definitive statement on Hepple and his team based on a very small sample size.

 

[Patagonia]

Makar has played 16 games of NCAA hockey.

Pettersson has played 26 games in the SHL.

Still not ready to make a definitive statement on either player, but anyone who's getting all discouraged because the pick everyone knew was gonna be a project isn't suddenly taking over Cawlidge Hawkey with his dazzling skill set hasn't been paying attention.

I certainly hope Elias Pettersson becomes the player everyone thinks he will be. The more talent in this league, the better. Obviously I'm hoping just a little bit more that Makar pans out. But I'm not ready to make some definitive statement on Hepple and his team based on a very small sample size.

Still too early to tell and some numbers are inflated based on the team. Pettersson plays with one of the best teams in the SHL. Makar plays on a team similar to the AVs being among the worst. Statistics get skewed and might not be a true indication on their true skills.

 

[henchman21]

UMass is far from one of the worst... far. They are a mid pack hockey east team. There is too much exaggeration on how bad that team is. They had a top 5 recruiting class and had a great transfer. That team is loaded for the next two seasons with or without Makar. With Makar next season they could make a run at the league title and could make a tournament run.

 

[Patagonia]

Here is UMass record for the past 5 seasons. They only win less than 25% of the games. A dramatic improvement with only 7 GP this season, UMass has nearly equaled the entire win total from last season.

2012-13	UMass-Amherst	H-East		27	9	16	2	0	0	20	0.370	72	79	0	4209	John Micheletto
2013-14	UMass-Amherst	H-East		20	4	13	3	0	0	11	0.275	42	61	0	3891	John Micheletto
2014-15	UMass-Amherst	H-East		36	11	23	2	0	0	24	0.333	99	152	0	2581	John Micheletto
2015-16	UMass-Amherst	H-East		36	8	24	4	0	0	20	0.278	84	146	391	2867	John Micheletto
2016-17	UMass-Amherst	H-East		36	5	29	2	0	0	12	0.167	66	132	0
2017-18	UMass-Amherst	H-East		7	3	4	0	0	0	6	0.429	20	27

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

UMass-Amherst hockey team statistics and history at hockeydb.com

Makar is the main star against colleges that are stacked. The best prospects attend the most successful and not the worst schools. Looking at the substantial improvement of the team record, Makar is much more dominate than just the statistics in the score sheet.

 

[henchman21]

I watch a good amount of college hockey... they are 9-7 (3-4 in HE now) this year with wins over Providence and Union (twice). Both top 20 teams, and Providence is a contender this year. UMass is inconsistent and young, but very talented. This isn't even close to the same team as last year. 9 of their top 11 scorers are 1st year UMass players (so is the 1B goalie)... two of them are two of the top freshman defensemen in the NCAA (Makar and Ferraro). The team half freshman and are loaded with high end college talent. They show their age frequently, but if they put it all together, they can play against any team in the NCAA.

 

[S E P H]

Please guys, stop with this "UMass is dreadful" nonsense.

UMass a billion times better than previous seasons Patagonia. As Hench said, they got a decent new head coach and got an insane freshman class.

 

[StayAtHomeAv]

Extraordinary ??? There is nothing extraordinnary about leading the shl in points . Do you even watch shl ?

I don't need to watch the shl to know that only one time in league history has someone under 20 ever had a better ppg. And that was back in the seventies.

I don't need to watch the shl to know that Peter Forsberg was the last teenager to average a ppg back in the early 90's. It's been 25 years since a 19 year old has been this dominate in the SHL (Nylander was close a couple years ago)

I don't need to watch the shl to know that only 6 people in league history have ever had a PPG average or better who were under 20.

And I don't need to watch the shl to know how extrodinary those instances are. Leading the league isnt extraordinary. Someone does it every year. Doing it at 19 is however. Hell, what this kid is accomplishing is damn near historical.

Eliteprospects.com - All-Time Stats and Leaders from SHL

 

[StayAtHomeAv]

It's absolutely hindsight after months of if this org doesn't take a defenseman for once posts.

Not for those who would have taken Pettersson over Makar.

 

[Balthazar]

Pettersson is insanely skinny and no one knows how it will translate in the NHL. There's not a lot of success stories with tall ultra skinny dudes in this league.

Also I highly doubt he was even on the radar for the AVS.

 

[McMetal]

Pettersson is insanely skinny and no one knows how it will translate in the NHL. There's not a lot of success stories with tall ultra skinny dudes in this league.

Also I highly doubt he was even on the radar for the AVS.

There's not a lot of success stories for sub-5'10 defensemen in the league either, but we're betting a lot on Girard being skilled enough to break that trend. Besides, he's 19 and can fill out. No doubt Vancouver is going to be working on nutrition with him to try and bulk him up. But saying "he's too skinny to be an NHL player" is as baseless as saying Girard is "too small to be an NHL defenseman". The league isn't nearly as physical as it used to be, and especially for a guy who plays such a calm, poised, silky-smooth skill game he's not going to spend a lot of time throwing his body around.

And if the mantra is BPA (which is what started this topic), then if Hepple really didn't think Pettersson was worth it in that range that is IMO a damning indictment of his ability to judge what BPA is.

 

[hockeyviking]

I don't need to watch the shl to know that only one time in league history has someone under 20 ever had a better ppg. And that was back in the seventies.

I don't need to watch the shl to know that Peter Forsberg was the last teenager to average a ppg back in the early 90's. It's been 25 years since a 19 year old has been this dominate in the SHL (Nylander was close a couple years ago)

I don't need to watch the shl to know that only 6 people in league history have ever had a PPG average or better who were under 20.

And I don't need to watch the shl to know how extrodinary those instances are. Leading the league isnt extraordinary. Someone does it every year. Doing it at 19 is however. Hell, what this kid is accomplishing is damn near historical.

Eliteprospects.com - All-Time Stats and Leaders from SHL

But history dosent mather. Shl was once the best League exept för NHL. IT isnt anymore. Its not even closse. IF he had put up the same stat 10 years ago i would be exceptionell. But right now shl isnt a good League anymore. Kepping a ppg in Ahl is mutch harder.

You are overvalueing his performance bacause you are overvalueing SHL

 

[Piestany88]

Pettersson is insanely skinny and no one knows how it will translate in the NHL. There's not a lot of success stories with tall ultra skinny dudes in this league.

Also I highly doubt he was even on the radar for the AVS.

Not the fleetest either

 

[tigervixxxen]

Please guys, stop with this "UMass is dreadful" nonsense.

UMass a billion times better than previous seasons Patagonia. As Hench said, they got a decent new head coach and got an insane freshman class.

Yeah they are a lot better and I've seen them play, they still have a long way to go.

If Hepple thought Pettersson was the bpa over Heiskanen y'all would have lost your damn minds. Lot of revisionist history going on here.

 

[Patagonia]

Another 2018 - 1st?

The 2018 Draft is looking stellar and not certain Ottawa can reverse their tailspin. They might do a NYI like tank this year and differ the pick for next season.

Which other team might be willing to make that trade? Most likely it’ll be a competitive team that needs a few pieces for a run at the cup. Teams like Chi, NYR, SJ and NYR might be willing and what pieces are needed in the trade by the AVs to get that extra 1st?

 

[henchman21]

If Hepple thought Pettersson was the bpa over Heiskanen y'all would have lost your damn minds. Lot of revisionist history going on here.

Heiskanen, maybe for some, and that would still be a great debate. Pettersson over Makar, many wouldn't have batted an eye and that is what should be discussed. Heiskanen was off the board for the Avs. Anybody in the 4-12 range could really be discussed.

 

[MikeC]

Since it seems sure that we wont have Ottawa<s pick this year. Those are the 2 guys i want to pick with our 1rst and 2nd..... Ty Smith and Rasmus Sandin, 2 left dman.

2019 seems to have good players, I know it is too early to judge but that Jack Hugues kid seems to be a hell of a player

 

[StayAtHomeAv]

But history dosent mather. Shl was once the best League exept för NHL. IT isnt anymore. Its not even closse. IF he had put up the same stat 10 years ago i would be exceptionell. But right now shl isnt a good League anymore. Kepping a ppg in Ahl is mutch harder.

You are overvalueing his performance bacause you are overvalueing SHL

If the shl is so bad recently then why havnt all the teenagers been hitting a ppg? Nylander has been the only one the past decade to even come close to a ppg, and he is proving to be a pretty damn good NHLer. Despite your past decade parameters he is still the only one to do it.

And you are just wrong about the AHL. There are 12 guys with a ppg in the SHL right now, including a guy who has 1 point in one game. There are 24 in the AHL with 10+ games played. There are another 21 guys who have played in less than 10 games. I know the SHL is a smaller league, but 12 vs 45 is a massive difference.

Last year only 2 guys in the SHL were a ppg. 7 (3 of which played just 1 game) hit the mark the year before. Only 4 guys got there the year before that. The AHL the past 3 years: 20 (44 including guys with less than ten games), 17 (33), 11 (37). So, not counting the guys with less than 10 games, the SHL has 10 ppg players the past 3 years. The AHL has had 48. 10 vs 48. It's not even a debate. It's obviously much easier to hit ppg in the AHL, not the SHL.

 

[hockeyviking]

If the shl is so bad recently then why havnt all the teenagers been hitting a ppg? Nylander has been the only one the past decade to even come close to a ppg, and he is proving to be a pretty damn good NHLer. Despite your past decade parameters he is still the only one to do it.

And you are just wrong about the AHL. There are 12 guys with a ppg in the SHL right now, including a guy who has 1 point in one game. There are 24 in the AHL with 10+ games played. There are another 21 guys who have played in less than 10 games. I know the SHL is a smaller league, but 12 vs 45 is a massive difference.

Last year only 2 guys in the SHL were a ppg. 7 (3 of which played just 1 game) hit the mark the year before. Only 4 guys got there the year before that. The AHL the past 3 years: 20 (44 including guys with less than ten games), 17 (33), 11 (37). So, not counting the guys with less than 10 games, the SHL has 10 ppg players the past 3 years. The AHL has had 48. 10 vs 48. It's not even a debate. It's obviously much easier to hit ppg in the AHL, not the SHL.

The amount of players on a ppg in AHL dosent say anything about how hard it is. You also need to look att the players..... Would they do the same in the SHL. Yes of Course whitout any problem. Just look at the players that is on a ppg in the shl would most of them do IT in the AHL, no way.

 

[Patagonia]

Since it seems sure that we wont have Ottawap>

2019 seems to have good players, I know it is too early to judge but that Jack Hugues kid seems to be a hell of a player

I really hope the Sens keep their 2018 pick and risk a draft lottery shot at Jack Hughes. He's closely described as another Paul Kariya...with speed of McDavid and puck skills of Kane. He is the clear 1st OA next season.

Imagine the future of the team with a lineup being among the best and youngest in the league.

Landy - Mackinnon - Rants
Jost - Hughes - Compher
Kerfoot - Kamenev - Yakupov/Ghetto
Nieto - Soda - Wilson

There is still Lewis, Greer, Morrison & Bowers in the system. Add having 3 of the top 62 picks in 2018 and 2019, even without Hughes they will be a stacked team.

 

[StayAtHomeAv]

The amount of players on a ppg in AHL dosent say anything about how hard it is. You also need to look att the players..... Would they do the same in the SHL. Yes of Course whitout any problem. Just look at the players that is on a ppg in the shl would most of them do IT in the AHL, no way.

You have no clue how these guys would do in the other league. Some guys do better in the AHL. And the number of guys to do it in each league is a direct result of how hard it is to score a ppg in each league. If 10% of 1 league is above a ppg and only 5% of the other league is that shows it's harder to reach a ppg in that league. If you start moving players from one league to the other then that also changes the quality of the league.

And I'll ask again, if it's so easy to do what he is doing then why is he the only teenager to hit a ppg in the last 25 years, which would include the past decade? There have been numerous 1st rounders taken the past decade to play in the SHL, including some top10 picks. Yet, only Nylander came even close to a ppg. And Pettersson is scoring .4 more than Nylander. 40% more! Despite a weak league none of these other highly thought of Swedes came close to what Pettersson is doing this year.

 

[hockeyviking]

You have no clue how these guys would do in the other league. Some guys do better in the AHL. And the number of guys to do it in each league is a direct result of how hard it is to score a ppg in each league. If 10% of 1 league is above a ppg and only 5% of the other league is that shows it's harder to reach a ppg in that league. If you start moving players from one league to the other then that also changes the quality of the league.

And I'll ask again, if it's so easy to do what he is doing then why is he the only teenager to hit a ppg in the last 25 years, which would include the past decade? There have been numerous 1st rounders taken the past decade to play in the SHL, including some top10 picks. Yet, only Nylander came even close to a ppg. And Pettersson is scoring .4 more than Nylander. 40% more! Despite a weak league none of these other highly thought of Swedes came close to what Pettersson is doing this year.

But shl wasnt week 10 years ago or even 5 years ago, its in s free fall when it comes to Qality the last years. This i have explsined already. What Nylander did dosent mather because the qality is not the same anymore. Acording to your teory its harder to have ppg in shl than in the NHL....... Do that makes sence?

 

[Piestany88]

But shl wasnt week 10 years ago or even 5 years ago, its in s free fall when it comes to Qality the last years. This i have explsined already. What Nylander did dosent mather because the qality is not the same anymore. Acording to your teory its harder to have ppg in shl than in the NHL....... Do that makes sence?

It doesn't because players put up big numbers in the SHL that can't even make the NHL

 

[henchman21]

As Hench said, they got a decent new head coach and got an insane freshman class.

To put context to this:

Recruiting Class Rankings - Neutral Zone - Men's Hockey

UMass coach Greg Carvel not satisfied with hockey program’s progress